Some fines upped in Spring Grove

SPRING GROVE – To deter truck drivers from using Winn Road as a bypass, the Spring Grove Village Board upped the fine for overweight vehicles, the village president said.

The ordinance was one of three approved at a recent board meeting.

The Village Board also increased the towing and impoundment fee to $350 from $250, still below the maximum, and approved a local littering ordinance, so officers didn’t have to charge under the state law.

It will give officers “a little bit more authority to enforce,” Village President Mark Eisenberg said.

Under the new overweight vehicle ordinance, the drivers of overweight vehicles can find themselves facing a $750 ticket in municipal court. Previously, police officers would charge drivers under the state law, which carries a $75 fine.

“They’re doing damage to our roads,” Eisenberg said. “[The new ordinance] gives the village the chance to recoup the cost.”

There will be a grace period as the village puts up signs along the affected roads, which include Winn Road, Main Street, Sunset Road and Meyer Road, Police Chief Thomas Saunders said.

If the driver has business in the area, though, they are exempt from the restriction, he said. The goal is to prevent people from using the village’s roads, which are not designed to carry that kind of weight, as thoroughfares.

Since the municipal court was created two years ago, the village has added more ordinances to handle issues at the village level.

When a ticket goes to court, the fees are split among the village, county and state, but with municipal court, most, if not all, of the fine stays with the village.

“One of the biggest problems that we have is that it costs more to send them to court than we get,” Eisenberg said. “Our officers are doing the patrolling work, and we’re not getting anything.”